Google's data minefield

Google's data minefield
Mark Rasch, 2006-01-30

The U.S. government's broad subpoena to search engines effectively seeks to mine the data of the Internet. While Google has resisted the subpoena, there may be little they can do to protect our privacy from many prying eyes.

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Google's data minefield 2006-01-30
Matthew Murphy

Well-written column. You really tackle the issue head-on and that is very refreshing....

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Google's data minefield 2006-01-30
Anonymous (1 replies)

This issue reminds me of the communist witch hunt in the fifties, and of information gathering by all sorts of government agencies at every level in the late sixties and early seventies, John Lennon and Yoko being particularly visible victims of it. But back then we didn't have the Internet as an i...

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Re: Google's data minefield 2006-01-30
Google has an ethical obligation (3 replies)

60s, 70s... Why only go back to the 60s and John Lennon?

Freedom needs limits. Freedom in the Name of freedom without limits is anarchy.

Virtual Communities are not communities. "Virtual Communities" is just another name for an adhoc mob. What is the time scope of an ethical opinion of a ...

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-01
Anonymous

"Ethical obligation?" I think not.

It's time for you to take a class in ethics and learn what ethics are all about.

Then you may raise your hand and wait to be recoginized. Until then, please sit down and shut up....

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Yeah, let's legislate good parenting! 2006-02-03
Anonymous (1 replies)

^ Dripping with sarcasm.

Look at gradeschools. Kids are going to get contraband, online or off, one way or another. It's illegal for an 8 year old to possess/purchase pornography in print, yet that doesn't stop kids from bringing it to school to show their buddies. Only good parenting is the ans...

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Re: Yeah, let's legislate good parenting! 2006-02-03
Google has an ethical obligation

Murder is wrong irrespective of the government's ability to catch the murders.

One role of the government is to protect it's citizens. Legislation is one way this is accomplished. Another way is teaching good habits. Sex and health education are good examples. Government should take both appr...

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-08
Anonymous

Perhaps the motives behind this search aren't sinister in nature... perhaps our government just wants to locate the porn stars on the internet so that selecting the breeding stock for the American Liebensbourne will be a mouse click away....

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Google's data minefield 2006-01-30
Google has an ethical obligation (3 replies)

If Google provides cached porn images to minors then Google is breaking the law. Google has an ethical responsibility to use it's corporate conscience to follow the laws.

The Law just convicts. The Law does not teach anyone how to live an ethical life. It would be silly to teach a teenager how...

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Google's Ethical Obligation 2006-01-30
Mark D. Rasch (1 replies)

The broader question is whether Google -- a search engine -- should act as a facilitator of government censorship policy at all. In many countries (China, for example) it is unlawful to "distribute" materials that are critical of the government, or other "harmful" ideas or thoughts. In the U.S., p...

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Re: Google's Ethical Obligation 2006-01-30
Google's Ethical Obligation (1 replies)

Yes. Google should act as a facilitator of government censorship. Google should abide by the laws of the land.

In addition, I should personally act as a facilitator of government censorship; i.e. I should follow the laws. I personally cannot distribute porn to minors.

Search engines need to...

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Re: Google's Ethical Obligation 2006-02-01
Jeff H, UK

'Search engines need to follow local laws'. Excuse me? How can a search engine on a web-site, any web-site, obey all local laws in every state and country in the world, assuming that the IP address of the user accurately provides that data?

This is like requiring the mail service to inspect every...

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Re: Google's data minefield 2006-01-31
Eric H. (1 replies)

"Google should already have in place some protection mechanism to prevent porn from being queried by underaged children. "

That sounds like putting too much reponsibility on a company that is providing an index to the web. That's like saying that the phone company must guarantee all the products ...

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-01
Google's Ethical Obligation

I commend Google for working with the Chinese government in providing a solution to the censorship problem. Perhaps Google will be able to apply the technology to a finer grained geographic region. Perhaps Google will be able to use the new technology in America....

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Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-02
Anonymous (1 replies)

The answer: don't have kids! No kids, no problems!

Now, when's my tee time...?...

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-03
Anonymous

Thank you for not reproducing.

Oh and read this: http://www.newnetworks.com/BroadbandScandalIntro.htm...

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Google's data minefield 2006-01-30
Anonymous

Make extreme pornographic content a crime & go after them. Leave us decent folks alone & stop violating our privacy....

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Google's data minefield 2006-01-31
Anonymous (1 replies)

"Sure. And by the way, drugs have been illegal for years. How is that working out in reducing their use and availability?"

Why don't we just legalize anything that people have found a way to use despite laws. All I see is complaining about everyone involved. Any suggestions for the government o...

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Government tackle the problem 2006-01-31
Mark D. Rasch (1 replies)

It all depends on what you consider "the problem." If the problem is that pornography is available on the Internet, that is one thing.. If its that kids have access to it, thats another. If it is that parents have a hard time keeping kids from accessing porn, thats another thing.

While the la...

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Re: Government tackle the problem 2006-01-31
Anonymous

...and with Alito newly-confirmed, it's now fairly up-in-the-air as to how the Court will decide when it comes up again....

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American society is so hypocritical! 2006-02-02
Jeremy Young (2 replies)

I'm so damn sick of hearing about porn on the internet and television and the like.
Our society promotes sex 24-7. It's everywhere. I don't know how much I can express that idea. Sex is an industry. It sells things. It brings in enormous revenues. The same people that support deregulation and unr...

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Re: American society is so hypocritical! 2006-02-02
Anonymous

"Most parents are clueless!"

Hear, hear! Yes, indeed. ...

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Re: American society is so hypocritical! 2006-02-03
Anonymous (1 replies)

"Keep your Bible out of my schools and your morals off my internet."

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the very definition of hypocrite....

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Re: Re: American society is so hypocritical! 2006-02-04
Anonymous (1 replies)

There is not a seperation of religion and state to protect the state, it's to protect religion. That is to say, if the state favores one religion over another, it is a detriment to all the other religions.

No one is saying don't be religious, it's just that people that are nonreligious shouldn'...

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Re: Re: Re: American society is so hypocritical! 2006-02-06
Google has an ethical obligation

The Supreme Court ruled that Atheism is a religion and that it's morals should be protected as free speech.

All moral decisions fall under a religion. There is no void of morals as far as religion is concerned....

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Google's data minefield 2006-02-02
Anonymous (1 replies)

If our government really cared about controlling porn they wouldn't have killed the proposition for the use of the xxx top level domain. This would have made filtering easy.

What they are really after here is everything they can possibly learn from Google's data about the American public.

Be ...

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Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-04
Google has an ethical obligation (2 replies)

Big Brother is just that, A Brother.

A house divided can not stand.

Love your brother....

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-05
Anonymous

"Big Brother is just that, A Brother.

A house divided can not stand.

Love your brother."

So, let me get this right? becuase someone is your family you should overlook everything else? There are laws and rules within society and within every family. You don't support your brother if he's a r...

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Re: Re: Google's data minefield 2006-02-08
Anonymous

You are actually advocating the complete abdication of our civil rights to a government that treats the Constitution as if it were an urban legend?

I have a cabbage in the fridge with a less tennuous grasp of the concept of freedom.
...

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The Grabbing Hands... 2006-02-08
Alexey Vesnin

Grab all they can.(Depeche Mode). There's no need to legalize the goverments' ID and info stealing for a good purposes like COPA or other... IT industry offers today more than one efficient solution for content ranking and filtering - you don't need to rob a good search engine for it, even if it's "...

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